Soyabean finishes higher

Soyabean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Monday amid expectations for a huge plunge in US soya acreage, traders said. CBoT soya closed 3-1/2 cents to 5-1/2 cents per bushel higher, with March up 3-1/4 at $7.40 per bushel. Traders said funds bought 2,000 to 2,500 lots.
The market continued to digest the news on Friday that a ProFarmer survey pegged 2007 US soya acreage down as much as 9-1/2 million acres as farmers plant corn to meet the surging demand from the ethanol sector. "The market still is reverberating after the ProFarmer numbers which were very bullish for beans and bearish for corn," said Vic Lespinasse, floor spokesman for A.G. Edwards and Co.
There also are some prospects for Brazilian soya acreage to drop next year as producers may shift more of their land into sugar cane to meet the growing ethanol industry in South America.
Investment fund buying boosted soyaoil because investors see soyaoil as a key player in the growing biodiesel industry. Soyaoil closed 0.25 to 0.31 cent per lb higher, with March up 0.25 at 30.62 cents per lb. Funds bought 3,000 lots of soyaoil, traders said.
Soyameal closed $1.50 per ton higher to 90 cents lower, with March down 30 at $212.40 per ton. Funds bought 1,000 lots of soyameal, the traders said. Volume was estimated by the CBOT at 96,081 soyabean futures and 22,868 options. Soyaoil volume was estimated at 36,847 futures and 3,603 options. Soyameal volume was estimated at 30,495 futures and 1,406 options.